Friday, April 4, 2014

Book Review: Dark Angel (Witches of Cleopatra Hill, Book 1) by Christine Pope

Dark AngelWitches of Cleopatra Hill, Book 1By: Christine Pope

Coming April 2014Jerome, Arizona, isn't just one of the most haunted places in America—it's also home to the McAllister witches and their extended clan. Angelica McAllister is the prima, the most powerful witch in her clan, but even she has to be on her guard, as the warlocks from a rival clan want nothing more than to capture her and bond her powers with theirs. To prevent this catastrophe, Angelica is expected to marry a compatible man from her clan. Never mind that she's not interested in any of them, and is instead haunted by the face of a man she's seen only in her dreams.

Imagine having forty-four young men paraded before you one after the other knowing you must kiss them to find out if they are the one you will bond with Yet all the while remaining chaste and knowing at first sight, nope this is not the one, but having to kiss them anyway. This is the problem Angela McAllister is faced with in Darkangel, which is the first book of the new Witches of Cleopatra Hill trilogy. The primary focus of this book is the introduction to Angela, the future head witch of her clan, and her struggles to find her consort. She is a young woman who just turned twenty-one and needs to find her consort and consummate and/or bond in the relationship before she turns twenty-two in order to come into her full powers to protect her clan.The story was intriguing enough to keep me glued to the pages, but I do have to say the majority of the book was world building and just when it was all about to hit the fan the book ends with a huge cliffhanger. For those that find this type of ending frustrating, the next installment is due out in June 2014. The writing was smooth and even though at times the book seemed long, I cannot think of anything that could have been cut and still leave the story with the full impact. The world building was really good and very believable keeping me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next, even though I did correctly guess the outcome a few times. The characters were intriguing, although sometimes annoying, and frankly I am looking forward to learning more about the bad guys in the tale. In this readers opinion this is not a dark read, but rather more on the lighter side of intrigue; however, there is promise of darker days to come and I am looking forward to reading the next installment to find out what happens.

NewsletterA native of Southern California, Christine Pope has been writing stories ever since she commandeered her family’s Smith-Corona typewriter back in the sixth grade. Her short fiction has appeared in Astonishing Adventures, Luna Station Quarterly, and the journal of dark fiction, Dark Valentine. Two of her short stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Christine writes as the mood takes her, and her work includes paranormal romance, and fantasy and science fiction/space opera romance. She blames this on being easily distracted by bright, shiny objects, which could also account for the size of her shoe collection. After spending many years in the magazine publishing industry, she now works as a freelance editor and graphic designer in addition to writing fiction. She fell in love with Sedona, Arizona, while researching the Sedona Trilogy and now makes her home there, surrounded by the red rocks. No alien sightings, though...not yet, anyway!

3 comments:

I love tales with great world-building, so I'm really looking forward to reading this one. I know it takes a bit to get all the world building done and actually is ongoing throughout a series, but that's some of the best parts of the tale. You can't have a fun read without a believable setting.

I so agree Michelle. This book was a really good read and the buildup wonderful, I think it was the cliffhanger ending that gave me pause. Even so, it reads very smooth and effortlessly and I admit I wanted to keep turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next.